Cookies on the Bupa website

We use cookies to help us understand ease of use and relevance of content. This ensures that we can give you the best experience on our website. If you continue, we'll assume that you are happy to receive cookies for this purpose. Find out more about cookies

Contact us

Diverticular disease

Diverticular disease is a condition that affects your large bowel. It occurs when small pouches, called diverticula, are pushed out through the wall of your large bowel. It’s a common condition that affects up to half of the population of Western Europe and North America.

If your diverticula become inflamed and infected, it may lead to a condition called diverticulitis.

Diverticular disease and diverticulitis are related digestive conditions that are caused by diverticula.

Diverticula are small pouches that push through the wall of your large bowel. They can occur if you don’t eat enough fibre.

Diverticular disease is when your diverticula cause you pain in your abdomen (tummy), without inflammation and infection. If your diverticula become inflamed and infected, this is known as diverticulitis.

Your risk of developing diverticula increases as you get older. It’s thought that half of all people have diverticula by the age of 50. This may increase to seven in 10 people by the age of 80.

You may develop diverticula on the right-hand side of your large bowel. This is less common than on the left-hand side and is seen more often in Asian patients. Therefore, if you have diverticulitis, your pain may be on the right-hand side of your abdomen.

These symptoms may be caused by problems other than diverticular disease. If you have any of these symptoms, see your GP for advice.

Your GP will ask you about your symptoms and examine you. He or she will also ask you about your medical history, diet and bowel movements.

Diverticular disease is sometimes difficult to diagnose because your symptoms may also be similar to other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Your GP may suggest one or more of the following tests to confirm if you have diverticula in your bowel. They may also suggest some of these tests to rule out complications of diverticular disease, such as diverticulitis, and other conditions.

A blood test. If your blood test shows that you have a high level of white blood cells or C-reactive proteins, it may be a sign of infection and usually occurs with diverticulitis.

A colonoscopy. This is a test that allows your doctor to look inside your large bowel. A colonoscopy is done in hospital using a narrow, flexible, tube-like telescopic camera called a colonoscope. This test can confirm if you have diverticula and rule out other conditions such as bowel cancer.

CT scan. This test uses X-rays to make a three-dimensional image of your body or a part of your body. If your symptoms are severe, a CT scan can show if you have diverticulitis and any complications linked to it.

A barium enema swallow and meal. This test involves swallowing a fluid containing barium (a substance that shows up on X-rays) into your bowel via your rectum. X-ray images of your abdomen then show the inside of your bowel more clearly. A barium enema X-ray is another way of confirming if you have diverticula. However, this test is not always accurate and will not be performed if you have acute, sudden pain. This is because it may cause your inflamed diverticula to burst (perforate).

Your treatment will depend on the severity of your symptoms and whether or not you have had diverticular disease before.

Self-help

Your GP may advise you to follow a high-fibre diet (between 18 and 30g each day) to help you control your symptoms. He or she may suggest that you to follow a balanced diet, rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Your GP will usually suggest that you gradually increase your fibre intake, as a sudden increase can lead to wind and bloating. They may also advise you to drink enough fluids if you increase your fibre intake as fibre absorbs water.

The evidence, however, to suggest whether a high-fibre diet will improve your symptoms is small. You may notice an improvement after a few days, but it may take as long as four weeks for you to feel a difference.

See our FAQ for more information about the types of food you should try and eat if you have diverticular disease.

Medicines

Your GP may give you a bulk-forming laxative if you’re unable to follow a high-fibre diet or if you have constipation. Bulk-forming laxatives increase the amount of faeces you have and softens them. This may make it easier for you to empty your bowels.

Your GP may also recommend that you take paracetamol to help relieve any pain. You may be advised not to take NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, as they may cause your diverticula to bleed.

If you have diverticulitis, your GP may prescribe you antibiotics for the infection. They may also advise you to take paracetamol to help relieve any pain. You may also need to follow a fluid-only diet for a few days until your symptoms get better. You can then gradually introduce solid foods back into your diet.

See our FAQ for more information about how diverticulitis is treated.

Always read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine and if you have any questions, ask your GP or pharmacist for advice.

Surgery

If you have diverticular disease, you won’t usually need surgery because you may be able to successfully treat your symptoms at home.

If you have diverticulitis, your GP may refer you to a colorectal surgeon (a doctor who specialises in conditions that affect the bowel) who may advise that you have surgery. You may have surgery only if you have had symptoms of diverticulitis more than once. You may also need to have surgery if you develop a complication, such as peritonitis, an abscess, fistula or a blockage in your bowel.

See our FAQ for more information about diverticulitis and surgery.

Bowel treatment on demand

You can access a range of our health and wellbeing services on a pay-as-you-go basis, including bowel treatment.

If your symptoms don’t improve after a month of having treatment, it’s important to seek advice from your GP. They may need to review your diet. Your GP may also do more tests to check for other conditions. He or she may offer you a trial of IBS treatment if you have not had this before.

Although the reason isn’t clear, it’s thought that lifestyle and diet may play a part in causing diverticular disease.

If you don’t eat enough fibre, your faeces may become pellet-like and hard. This can make it more difficult for you to empty your bowel, creating additional pressure inside your bowel. Small pouches called diverticula, push through the wall of your large bowel.

Diverticular disease may be less common in vegetarians and in parts of the world where people have more fibre in their diet.

Other factors that may cause diverticular disease include:

alcohol

caffeine

certain types of medicines, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

If your diverticula become inflamed and infected, this may lead to diverticulitis. If you have diverticulitis, it may develop into more serious problems. These are explained below.

A pus-filled lump, called an abscess, may form on the outside wall of your bowel.

Severely infected diverticula can sometimes burst and cause an infection in your abdomen. This is called peritonitis.

If you have an abscess and it bursts into your one of your organs, for example, your bladder, a fistula may form. A fistula is a passageway that connects two parts of your body together that aren’t normally connected. If you have a fistula, you may need an operation to close it.

If your diverticula repeatedly become inflamed, the affected part of your bowel may become narrow or blocked. If this happens you may have constipation and pain, and you may also feel sick.

Some examples of what you can do to help reduce your chance of getting diverticular disease are listed below.

Increase your fibre intake by eating at least five daily portions of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also include wholegrain foods such as brown rice, pasta and oats in your diet. It’s important to increase your fibre intake slowly to reduce any side-effects, such as excessive wind.

If you increase your fibre intake it’s important that you drink enough fluids.

Regular exercise, such as running, may help to prevent diverticular disease.

How is diverticulitis treated?

Answer

If you have diverticulitis, it can usually be treated at home.

Explanation

If you have mild diverticulitis, your GP may give you antibiotics and advise you to take paracetamol to help relieve any pain. Your doctor may also suggest that you have clear liquids and introduce solid foods as your symptoms improve. If your diverticulitis is more severe, you may need to go into hospital. You will have to go into hospital if:

your symptoms don’t improve after 48 hours of having treatment at home

you have a weak immune system

your pain can’t be managed with paracetamol

you can’t take antibiotics as tablets

you have a complication, for example, peritonitis

If you do need to go into hospital, you will be given antibiotics and fluids through a drip inserted into a vein in your hand or arm. You will be monitored and if after 48 hours your symptoms improve, you will be given antibiotic tablets to take. If your symptoms don’t improve, it may be that an abscess has formed in your bowel. If this happens, you may need to have surgery or have the abscess drained under CT scan.

What kind of diet should I eat if I have diverticular disease?

Answer

Try to eat a diet that contains enough fibre in the form of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. This is important for your general health, as well as preventing the risk of diverticular disease.

Explanation

There are two types of fibre – soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre can be partially digested by your digestive system and includes things like oats, beans and lentils. This type of fibre may help to reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

Insoluble fibre passes through your digestive system undigested. This type of fibre helps other food and waste products move through your digestive system more easily, keeping your bowels healthy and helps to prevent constipation.

You should aim to eat between 18 and 30g (grams) of fibre each day. Some examples of good sources of insoluble fibre include:

two slices of wholemeal bread (3.5g)

half a tin of baked beans (7.4g)

three whole apricots (5g)

three whole prunes (5g)

one medium pear (3.7g)

It’s also important that you drink enough fluids if you increase your fibre intake as fibre absorbs water.

The evidence to suggest whether a high-fibre diet will improve your symptoms is small. You may find it more helpful to eat fibre in the form of fruit and vegetables, rather than having fibre from cereals.

Will I need surgery if I have diverticulitis?

Answer

Most people with diverticulitis can usually treat it at home and won’t need surgery.

Explanation

Surgery is not recommended very often and you may only have it if you have had symptoms of diverticulitis more than once. You may also need to have surgery if you develop a complication, such as peritonitis, an abscess, fistula or a blockage in your bowel.

If you need to have surgery, the affected part of your bowel will be removed and the remaining healthy parts will be joined together. This is known as a colectomy.

If the healthy parts of your bowel can’t be safely joined back together (for example, because of a severe infection), you will need to have stoma surgery. A stoma is an artificial opening of your bowel on the front of your abdomen (tummy) created during an operation, to collect faeces. A stoma can be either temporary (and reversed later) or permanent, depending on which part of your bowel has been removed.

We’d love to know what you think about what you’ve just been reading and looking at – we’ll use it to improve our information. If you’d like to give us some feedback, our short form below will take just a few minutes to complete. And if there's a question you want to ask that hasn't been answered here, please submit it to us. Although we can't respond to specific questions directly, we’ll aim to include the answer to it when we next review this topic.

About our health information

At Bupa we produce a wealth of free health information for you and your family. We believe that trustworthy information is essential in helping you make better decisions about your health and care. Here are just a few of the ways in which our core editorial principles have been recognised.

Information Standard

We are certified by the Information Standard. This quality mark identifies reliable, trustworthy producers and sources of health information.

HONcode

Plain English Campaign

We hold the Crystal Mark, which is the seal of approval from the Plain English Campaign for clear and concise information.

What our readers say about us

But don't just take our word for it; here's some feedback from our readers.

“Simple and easy to use website - not alarming, just helpful.”

“It’s informative but not too detailed. I like that it’s factual and realistic about the conditions and the procedures involved. It’s also easy to navigate to areas that you specifically want without having to read all the information.”

“Good information, easy to find, trustworthy.”

Our core principles

All our health content is produced in line with our core editorial principles – readable, reliable, relevant – which are represented by our diagram.

Click to open full-size image

The ‘3Rs’ encompass everything we believe good health information should be. From tweets to in-depth reports, videos to quizzes, every piece of content we produce has these as its foundation.

Readable

In a nutshell, our information is jargon-free, concise and accessible. We know our audience and we meet their health information needs, helping them to take the next step in their health and wellbeing journey.

Reliable

We use the best quality and most up-to-date evidence to produce our information. Our process is transparent and validated by experts – both our users and medical specialists.

Relevant

We know that our users want the right information at the right time, in the way that suits them. So we review our content at least every three years to keep it fresh. And we’re embracing new technology and social media so they can get it whenever and wherever they choose.

Our accreditation

Here are just a few of the ways in which the quality of our information has been recognised.

The Information Standard certification scheme

You will see the Information Standard quality mark on our content. This is a certification programme, supported by NHS England, that was developed to ensure that public-facing health and care information is created to a set of best practice principles.

It uses only recognised evidence sources and presents the information in a clear and balanced way. The Information Standard quality mark is a quick and easy way for you to identify reliable and trustworthy producers and sources of information.

Certified by the Information Standard as a quality provider of health and social care information. Bupa shall hold responsibility for the accuracy of the information they publish and neither the Scheme Operator nor the Scheme Owner shall have any responsibility whatsoever for costs, losses or direct or indirect damages or costs arising from inaccuracy of information or omissions in information published on the website on behalf of Bupa.

HONcode

We comply with the HONcode (Health on the Net) for trustworthy health information. Certified by the HONcode for trustworthy health information.

Plain English Campaign

Our website is approved by the Plain English Campaign and carries their Crystal Mark for clear information. In 2010, we won the award for best website.

This information was published by Bupa's Health Content Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition. The information contained on this page and in any third party websites referred to on this page is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice nor is it intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment. Such third party websites are not owned or controlled by Bupa and any individual may be able to access and post messages on them. Bupa is not responsible for the content or availability of these third party websites. We do not accept advertising on this page. For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the 'About our health information' section.